a smile they wanted to break

The classroom fell silent.

Saru stood frozen at the door.

Her eyes were fixed on the blackboard.

"WELCOME TO HELL, SARU."

The words were written in thick black marker.

Underneath them was a smiling face with tears running down its cheeks.

Laughter echoed through the classroom.

Some students whispered.

Others pointed at her.

Saru's fingers tightened around the strap of her school bag.

She wanted to ask...

"Who did this?"

But no words came out.

She slowly walked to her seat and quietly erased the blackboard.

No anger.

No tears.

Just silence.

"Who wrote this?"

The class teacher entered and looked around the room.

Nobody answered.

The students acted as if nothing had happened.

The teacher sighed.

"If I find out who did this, there will be consequences."

Everyone lowered their heads.

No one spoke.

Saru knew...

No one ever would.

The day passed slowly.

Whenever she answered a question in class, someone laughed.

Whenever she stood up, someone whispered her name.

She tried to ignore it.

"Maybe they'll stop tomorrow."

She wanted to believe that.

During lunch break, Saru opened her lunch box.

Before she could take her first bite...

A hand suddenly knocked the bottle over.

Water spilled all over her food.

The rice turned soggy.

The curry mixed with the water.

Someone laughed from behind.

"Oh no..."

"I think your lunch is crying."

The group burst into laughter.

Saru looked at her ruined lunch.

She quietly closed the lunch box.

"I'm not hungry," she whispered to herself.

She walked away without saying a single word.

As she sat alone under the old tree...

She remembered her grandmother.

"Never let the world change your kind heart."

Saru smiled weakly.

"I'll try, Grandma..."

Even though...

It was becoming harder every day.

After school...

She reached home.

The house was quiet as always.

Her father hadn't returned yet.

She cooked instant noodles for herself.

Finished her homework.

Cleaned the kitchen.

Then sat beside the window.

The rain had started again.

She stared outside for a long time.

Sometimes...

Silence hurt more than words.

It was almost midnight when the front door opened.

Her father finally came home.

He looked exhausted.

His tie was loose.

Dark circles surrounded his eyes.

Without saying a word, he walked toward his room.

"Dad..."

Saru called softly.

He stopped.

For a moment...

She thought he would finally talk to her.

Instead, he simply nodded.

"I'm tired."

Then he closed the bedroom door.

Saru stood there alone.

She smiled.

But this time...

Her smile disappeared almost immediately.

The next morning...

She reached school earlier than usual.

She wanted one peaceful morning.

But fate had other plans.

She opened her desk.

Inside...

She found dozens of torn paper pieces.

Each one had the same sentence written on it.

"Nobody wants you here."

Her hands began to shake.

She looked around the classroom.

Everyone was watching her.

Some smiled.

Some pretended not to notice.

At the back of the room...

The leader of the group slowly clapped her hands.

"Welcome to your new life, Saru."

The bell rang.

And for the first time...

Saru realized this wasn't a prank.

This was the beginning of something much worse.

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